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http://thechronicleherald.ca/Search/555811.html
Navy looking for civilian personnel
Canada’s Navy needs you. Now.
It might be tinged with the tone of a military recruiting poster but, in this instance, when the Commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic stresses an immediate need for new personnel, his enthusiasm is pointed to the province’s civilian population.
Rear-Admiral Dean McFadden fuels his fervour by directing attention, through his harbour side office window, to a commanding view of HMC Dockyard, "the largest defence facility in Canada.
"We need people down there," he insists. "It bothers me when I hear so much about ‘migration’ to the west. It is reminiscent of the legendary ‘going down the road’ syndrome that has beleaguered the Maritimes and virtually created a national mindset for too many years."
The Admiral says, "We want to inform Nova Scotians, that the Dockyard here in Halifax, long considered one of the best places to work, is in an active hiring mode. We require skilled trades people to grow our fleet workforce."
Tightened federal fiscal policies in the 1990s, he explains, "resulted in fewer civilian job opportunities. And, we paid the price. Yes, we did maintain combat readiness and effectiveness, but lost on required support personnel. Today, with a global transformation in defence and security thinking September 11 having changed the world we need ‘new blood,’ not only to increase overall staffing requirements, but to replenish retirement numbers."
"The Dockyard," he stresses, "offers solid pay, a stable workplace and a secure future. Those are extremely important career benefits. We require an agile, competent, sophisticated work force to provide us with the capacity to surge our output when we have to address the often unexpected, yet immediate, needs of our country.
"In the past year, the Dockyard’s Fleet Maintenance Facility workforce has grown from 950 to 1,049, and we want an additional 150 more, plus replacements for workers soon to retire."
With 10,000 people, military and civilian, employed with Department of National Defence in the HRM alone, the impact of the military is huge. "Annually, we contribute close to $2 billion, directly and indirectly, into the provincial economy. That’s about 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product. It’s safe to say the Canadian Forces’ footprint across Atlantic Canada is very significant."
Also significant is the Canadian Forces’ role in addressing two of today’s most pressing concerns Canadian security and National Defence. Each has been assigned to Adm McFadden and in particular, he has the responsibility for coordination of the integrated staff comprising the three military services.
Adm. McFadden admits the need to ‘wear several hats’, each of which defines clearly his assigned leadership role. On the Naval side, he is Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and reports up the chain to the head of the Navy Chief of Maritime Staff in Ottawa. With this hat, Adm. McFadden’s responsibility is to deploy combat-capable Maritime forces for national and international defence commitments.
On the domestic response and security side, he is Commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic and reports up a different chain to the Commander of Canada Command (CANADA COM) also located in Ottawa. In this capacity, his mandate, he says, "is to conduct routine and contingency operations in the Atlantic area, so as to address the new international security environment."
Security is the function of the Marine Security Operations Centre (MSOC), which is also undergoing a period of growth. Adm. McFadden says the mission of the centre "is to enable departments and agencies to work collaboratively. MSOC collects and analyzes intelligence information to develop a solid awareness of our area of responsibility, with regard to security in general, but marine security specifically."
His objective is that an MSOC complex might be built in the Dockyard, to bring together all core partners in one, convenient, central headquarters/communications facility. It would include the Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Transport Canada; as well as the Department of National Defence, the organization designated by the federal government to commission the facility.
MSOC civilian and military inter-agency staff, the Admiral points out, "have a clear marine picture of the identification, intent and movement of vessels, personnel and cargo destined for, or already in, maritime approaches to Canada. Also, they have the authority and capacity to detect, assess and provide a coordinated, inter-departmental approach when dealing with marine security threats to Canada and its Allies."
To illustrate success of current inter-agency collaboration, Adm. McFadden references Operation Chabanel. "This was an elaborate ‘sting’ operation, planned by the RCMP, with cooperation, assistance and protection of Canadian naval forces — HMCS Fredericton to be specific. It started in Canadian waters then moved off the coast of Angola, Africa where 22.5 tonnes of hashish destined for Canadian streets was intercepted by RCMP Officers in a leased commercial vessel and concluded with number of arrests in Montreal. The narcotics were valued in excess of $225 million six times the price of all the hashish seized by Canadian officials in 2005. CTV News reported on the 18-month operation, and subsequent arrest of ‘several known gang members.’"
The sting operation proved to be "one of the few times the Armed Forces gets to ‘go public’ on the hundreds of missions in which our highly skilled men and women lead or participate." It was yet ‘one more hat’ to wear for the seasoned sailor.
Rear-Admiral McFadden, who joined the Canadian Forces in 1978, openly professes, "I love my job. We are in a day and age when young people want to change workplaces frequently. They are eager to take on new responsibilities, accept new challenges, work in another part of the country, and seek security for their family’s future.
"I’ve done all that. All military personnel do the same. And, best of all, we never had to change employers."
It is, he concludes, "best summed up in our ageless motto: ‘Ready Aye Ready.’"
Navy looking for civilian personnel
Canada’s Navy needs you. Now.
It might be tinged with the tone of a military recruiting poster but, in this instance, when the Commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic stresses an immediate need for new personnel, his enthusiasm is pointed to the province’s civilian population.
Rear-Admiral Dean McFadden fuels his fervour by directing attention, through his harbour side office window, to a commanding view of HMC Dockyard, "the largest defence facility in Canada.
"We need people down there," he insists. "It bothers me when I hear so much about ‘migration’ to the west. It is reminiscent of the legendary ‘going down the road’ syndrome that has beleaguered the Maritimes and virtually created a national mindset for too many years."
The Admiral says, "We want to inform Nova Scotians, that the Dockyard here in Halifax, long considered one of the best places to work, is in an active hiring mode. We require skilled trades people to grow our fleet workforce."
Tightened federal fiscal policies in the 1990s, he explains, "resulted in fewer civilian job opportunities. And, we paid the price. Yes, we did maintain combat readiness and effectiveness, but lost on required support personnel. Today, with a global transformation in defence and security thinking September 11 having changed the world we need ‘new blood,’ not only to increase overall staffing requirements, but to replenish retirement numbers."
"The Dockyard," he stresses, "offers solid pay, a stable workplace and a secure future. Those are extremely important career benefits. We require an agile, competent, sophisticated work force to provide us with the capacity to surge our output when we have to address the often unexpected, yet immediate, needs of our country.
"In the past year, the Dockyard’s Fleet Maintenance Facility workforce has grown from 950 to 1,049, and we want an additional 150 more, plus replacements for workers soon to retire."
With 10,000 people, military and civilian, employed with Department of National Defence in the HRM alone, the impact of the military is huge. "Annually, we contribute close to $2 billion, directly and indirectly, into the provincial economy. That’s about 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product. It’s safe to say the Canadian Forces’ footprint across Atlantic Canada is very significant."
Also significant is the Canadian Forces’ role in addressing two of today’s most pressing concerns Canadian security and National Defence. Each has been assigned to Adm McFadden and in particular, he has the responsibility for coordination of the integrated staff comprising the three military services.
Adm. McFadden admits the need to ‘wear several hats’, each of which defines clearly his assigned leadership role. On the Naval side, he is Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and reports up the chain to the head of the Navy Chief of Maritime Staff in Ottawa. With this hat, Adm. McFadden’s responsibility is to deploy combat-capable Maritime forces for national and international defence commitments.
On the domestic response and security side, he is Commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic and reports up a different chain to the Commander of Canada Command (CANADA COM) also located in Ottawa. In this capacity, his mandate, he says, "is to conduct routine and contingency operations in the Atlantic area, so as to address the new international security environment."
Security is the function of the Marine Security Operations Centre (MSOC), which is also undergoing a period of growth. Adm. McFadden says the mission of the centre "is to enable departments and agencies to work collaboratively. MSOC collects and analyzes intelligence information to develop a solid awareness of our area of responsibility, with regard to security in general, but marine security specifically."
His objective is that an MSOC complex might be built in the Dockyard, to bring together all core partners in one, convenient, central headquarters/communications facility. It would include the Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Transport Canada; as well as the Department of National Defence, the organization designated by the federal government to commission the facility.
MSOC civilian and military inter-agency staff, the Admiral points out, "have a clear marine picture of the identification, intent and movement of vessels, personnel and cargo destined for, or already in, maritime approaches to Canada. Also, they have the authority and capacity to detect, assess and provide a coordinated, inter-departmental approach when dealing with marine security threats to Canada and its Allies."
To illustrate success of current inter-agency collaboration, Adm. McFadden references Operation Chabanel. "This was an elaborate ‘sting’ operation, planned by the RCMP, with cooperation, assistance and protection of Canadian naval forces — HMCS Fredericton to be specific. It started in Canadian waters then moved off the coast of Angola, Africa where 22.5 tonnes of hashish destined for Canadian streets was intercepted by RCMP Officers in a leased commercial vessel and concluded with number of arrests in Montreal. The narcotics were valued in excess of $225 million six times the price of all the hashish seized by Canadian officials in 2005. CTV News reported on the 18-month operation, and subsequent arrest of ‘several known gang members.’"
The sting operation proved to be "one of the few times the Armed Forces gets to ‘go public’ on the hundreds of missions in which our highly skilled men and women lead or participate." It was yet ‘one more hat’ to wear for the seasoned sailor.
Rear-Admiral McFadden, who joined the Canadian Forces in 1978, openly professes, "I love my job. We are in a day and age when young people want to change workplaces frequently. They are eager to take on new responsibilities, accept new challenges, work in another part of the country, and seek security for their family’s future.
"I’ve done all that. All military personnel do the same. And, best of all, we never had to change employers."
It is, he concludes, "best summed up in our ageless motto: ‘Ready Aye Ready.’"
